In The Beginning: Two
by Voyager Tip
Summary: Before Episode 2, and after "In The Beg: One",  Phineas struggles with violating the code every day because he is traveling with Jeff who continues to grieve. As they solve red lights, they begin to better understand their unique and caring relationship
1. An Argument

_Author's Note: This is a continuation of the "early relationship" idea I started with "In The Beginning: One". This story starts right after that story ends, still well before Episode 2: Created Equal. Jeffrey and Phineas worked through many things in my first story, but still don't know each other very well. Phineas continues to be confused about the path his life has taken (he's violating the Code on a daily basis by voyaging with Jeff), and Jeffrey continues to grieve, even as he grows closer to Bogg._

_I'm trying to practice using more dialog in this story. I'm also continuing to practice writing their different "Points of View". And of course, I'll be focusing on deepening the relationship between Phineas and Jeffrey. I hope you enjoy it! _

**Chapter 1 An Argument**

The meal had been delicious, especially after missing lunch, though Jeffrey wasn't so sure he liked venison. He lay back on the blanket that Mrs. Boone had spread on the floor beside the fire, his hands behind his head, propping it up so he could stare into the flames. Bogg sat a few feet away, also staring quietly into the flames. All their days had been exciting, but today had been an especially interesting day, and not because they were in Daniel Boone's cabin either. Today, he and Bogg had had their first big argument, they had argued about what was wrong with history. Not about how to fix it, but about what needed to be fixed. And Jeffrey had been right. He hoped Bogg didn't mind too much, but, what was he supposed to do, go along with a plan that was destined to fail?

As he thought about Bogg, he could hear his words as clear as day, _'I want you to stay with me, it just feels right_'. He had said those words last evening, in Henry Ford's barn. They had made Jeff happy then, but now he couldn't help but wonder just how long Bogg would think having Jeff with him felt right.

All of a sudden the thought struck him that he was alone in the whole universe. It was true that he'd felt alone when he was living with Aunt Elizabeth, but now, not only did he not have a family, he didn't have a time either. He did have Bogg, but he wasn't sure what Bogg was to him exactly. Really, he was just a person that Jeff was helping out, and that wasn't much. As sadness engulfed him, he rolled over and closed his eyes, trying to shut out the world, hoping against hope that he could continue doing whatever it was he had done to make Bogg feel that having him around '_just felt right'_.

Phineas sat quietly staring at the fire too, and thinking about their day. Before they'd landed here in Tennessee, they had traveled to 1943, landing in a naval shipyard in Philadelphia. Only a kid would've been able to figure out what the engineer Richard James needed to discover. Any voyager, including Bogg, would have thought it had something to do with the war. After all, they were in the middle of World War II, yet as soon as Jeff had seen the engineer's work area, he had kept insisting, more forcefully each time, that they were there to ensure that a toy was created.

This had been their first real disagreement. Bogg had been certain that the problem involved the war, and had even forbidden Jeffrey from continuing to touch the odd assortment of springs lined up on a shelf above the workbench. But Jeff had argued that the man needed to invent a child's toy.

And then Bogg had done it. After a protracted argument, during which Bogg felt they had wasted enough time, he'd dared Jeff to prove his theory. Without a hesitation, Jeff had confidently moved a pile of books over to where James was working on a series of springs, then he'd picked up the engineer's samples and handled them, incurring his wrath. But the kid didn't mind getting yelled at. Instead, he took one of the springs and pushed it off the shelf. It stepped onto the books, then the tabletop, then a stool, another pile of books, and then the floor, where it recoiled itself and stood upright. Phineas stood watching as James stared at it, intrigued and Jeff tugged his arm until he open the omni. It had turned green, and he and Jeffrey headed for the door as James picked the spring up off the floor.

"It'll be called a Slinky, ... the toy I mean," Jeff had said excitedly, and suddenly his expression changed to one of uncertainty and he looked down at the gravel driveway. Bogg could seem to see the wheels turning in his mind. He'd been so excited that he was right about solving the problem that he suddenly seemed to realize how harshly he had spoken to Bogg during their disagreement.

"We can have a difference of opinion you know," Bogg had told him, "but that's all it should be, okay?"

Jeff rewarded him with a relieved smile and Bogg's heart had turned over as he realized that his words and actions created this kid's world. He could either build him up or destroy him. His words could cause happiness or misery. It was a huge responsibility and the realization had been a shock. He hoped he had the wisdom and self control to handle this choice he'd made, he knew he probably didn't have the patience. One of the first things he'd ever said to Jeff had been, _'I'm not a man known for being patient'_, and it was true.

Then Phineas had continued, "by the way, you did good. I never would've been able to figure it out alone." He almost ended the sentence with _'without my guidebook'_ but he couldn't bring himself to mention that loss again.

"Thanks," Jeff had said and his eyes shone more brightly than they had since they'd met.

The fire crackled loudly, pulling Bogg into the present. He glanced over at Jeff, he looked asleep on top of the blanket. Bogg added some wood to the fire and settled on his own blanket to get some sleep.

**Night**

The cry was quiet, and only lasted a few seconds, but Bogg was awake immediately. At first he thought that some nocturnal animal had been hunting nearby, but when Jeffrey rolled over restlessly and cried out again, he knew the kid had been dreaming. He sat up and thought for a few seconds before moving to lie beside him. He rested his hand lightly on Jeff's shoulder and gently rubbed back and forth, just as he'd done in the mountaintop cabin a few days before. It had the same effect, the boy became still and seemed to fall into a deeper sleep. Bogg closed his eyes again too, but the image he saw was of Jeff arguing with him about the toy. He'd been so confident, and eager to test out his theory. He'd acted like a real voyager and Bogg had been impressed. That self-confident, enthusiastic kid was still there somewhere, asleep under his hand. But it was the same child whose dreams were tortured by terrible memories of his parent's deaths.

He wondered again why he had been the voyager to be put into Jeff's room. Had it been an accident, or by design? As this thought occurred to him, he felt a bit hopeful. If he'd been chosen for this, maybe he wouldn't be in so much trouble when headquarters finally caught up to them. Then again, why would anyone choose him for this? There was absolutely no reason he could think of that he should be chosen. He was unprepared for and scared by the responsibility if he dwelled on it too long. He'd recently taken to putting it out of his mind and had convinced himself that this coping strategy was working well.

Jeffrey was a wounded, helpless child. No, he stopped himself, definitely not helpless. But wounded, yes, no one could deny that. But why was Bogg's life on this odd path? Why wasn't someone else letting Jeff solve red lights by day and comforting him by night? He sighed and moved his hand to keep it in contact with Jeffrey's arm as he drifted off to sleep.

Jeff awoke and immediately felt something warm against his face. He snuggled closer to it, his thoughts turning toward home. After a minute, or maybe an hour, he couldn't tell, he opened his eyes and realized he had his arms around Bogg's forearm, which was against the side of his face. He glanced up at the pirate, and saw that he was laying on his side and still asleep. He'd apparently moved next to Jeff during the night for some reason. He smiled and pulled Bogg's arm close again.

.


	2. Thomas Lincoln

**Chapter 2 Thomas Lincoln **

"Ready to go?" Bogg asked later that morning after they'd eaten.

They landed in a clearing beside a wide dirt path.

"Ow," Jeff exclaimed and pulled a stick out from under his leg.

Phineas Bogg glanced over at him and chuckled, "be glad it wasn't a skunk," he said philosophically.

Jeff's jaw dropped open, then a moment later he closed it and stood up. "Skunks are nocturnal, we wouldn't have landed on one now," he pointed out, moving his hand to point across the crude trail where the morning sun cast shadows of the trees.

"Raccoon then."

"They're nocturnal too," Jeff said smugly.

"Grizzly Bear!"

"Okay, I get it, there are worse things than a stick," Jeff answered.

"And I've seen plenty of skunks in the daylight," Bogg told him.

"Are you gonna find out where we are or are we gonna discuss animals all day?"

Bogg chuckled to himself as he unhooked the omni from his belt, thinking once again that Jeff's company was enjoyable. He looked at the device, "Hardin County, Kentucky, 1807, red light."

Suddenly they heard a crash and a horse whinny loudly. Bogg immediately moved toward the sound. Around a bend in the rough trail they saw a wagon overturned. The horse was thrashing around wildly, still connected to the wagon by a crude harness. Bogg held his hand out for Jeff to stop.

"Stay out of the way," he instructed, and ran to the pile of contents strewn on the ground. He quickly found a blade and cautiously made his way toward the horse.

"Ho, easy," he said softly. Luckily, the animal had stopped struggling to catch its breath, so keeping as far away from the hooves and back end of the horse as he could, he reached out and carefully severed the bit of harness that was caught under the wagon. Bogg backed away as the horse jumped to his feet and lunged away from the wagon, toward the woods.

Jeff edged toward the animal and spoke in a calm voice, finally taking hold of the reins and leading the horse down the road, trying to calm him. When they returned, he tied him to a tree in the shade, then hurried to where Bogg was lifting the wagon so the man could pull his leg out from under it. The reins were tangled around his ankle. He paused to stare at the broken axle and could see where one of the wheels had rolled off the track into a small gully, causing so much strain that the axle had snapped.

Bogg was kneeling beside the man who was struggling to sit up. "We'll help you, just rest a minute." He reached down and felt the man's leg, unwrapping the reins as he did, "it doesn't feel broken."

"I'm okay, but I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't come along. He might've killed me, with all his thrashing around." He paused and held out his hand, "thanks, I'm Thomas Lincoln."

Bogg shook his hand, "Phineas Bogg," then he motioned toward Jeff, "Jeffrey Jones."

"You're Thomas Lincoln?" Jeff asked.

"You've heard of me?"

"Is your wife named Nancy?" Jeff asked.

"Yes."

Jeff smiled, "nice to meet you," and he motioned with his head so he and Bogg could talk in private.

"Okay, who is he?" Phineas smiled. It was obvious that Jeff knew what was going on here.

"He's Abraham Lincoln's father Bogg, or at least he will be."

"Oh," Bogg nodded, then turned back to Thomas. "Can we help you fix the wagon?"

The sun was high in the sky by the time Thomas had fashioned a replacement axle and Phineas had helped him lift the wagon so it could be secured through the hub of the wheel.

"Good thing it only has to last for another 3 miles," Thomas remarked as they rolled the wagon forward to test the makeshift part.

"We can split the load," Jeff suggested, "some on your horse and Bogg and I can carry some things too."

"Thanks son, that would really help," Thomas answered.

Thomas and Bogg redistributed the load quickly and hitched the horse back up to the wagon. As they started up the rough track, Phineas glanced at Jeffrey, concerned that he'd been very quiet as they had prepared to start the trek to Thomas' cabin. The boy's shoulders sagged and he looked at the ground as he walked. Bogg sighed. He guessed that Thomas' casual way of calling him son had probably brought back some sad feelings for Jeff. As they trailed along behind the wagon, he tried to think of how he could help, but his hands were full, and Thomas was in earshot. He couldn't think of anything that might help Jeff feel better.

Jeff walked behind the wagon beside Bogg, carrying a satchel. He felt a sudden surge of anger at Thomas. How dare he call him son! He didn't know Jeffrey at all. No one could call him son. No one would ever call him that again, he thought angrily.

They completed the trip in silence and stopped in front of a cabin in a clearing beside the rough track. Thomas immediately unhitched the horse and led him to a small corral where he could forage and drink from a nearby steam. Then he returned to Phineas and Jeffrey. "Let me take that," he said, reaching for the satchel and Jeff relinquished it quickly.

"Thanks," Jeff grunted and then straightened up and stretched. He smiled at Bogg as he watched him put down his load, his anger forgotten. "Why don't you check the omni?" and watched as Bogg took the device off his belt.

He could hear the green light ding before Bogg showed it to him.

"Where were you heading?" Thomas asked.

Jeff froze, he didn't know the name of any place close by.  
>"West," Bogg answered.<p>

Thomas nodded, "well, I hope you'll stay the night. I shot a buck last evening, Nancy will have a fine stew for supper."

"We'd appreciate that, thanks," Phineas answered and he and Jeff followed Thomas inside to meet his wife.

Jeff's looked around the inside of the cabin, his eyes taking in everything, as Thomas explained how they had helped him with the wagon.

"Well, the stew won't be ready for awhile, so why don't you rest while I gather some berries," said his wife.

"No," Jeff spoke up immediately, anxious to help, "I'll do it."

"We'll do it," Bogg's voice echoed his and together they left the cabin, carrying baskets.

"This is great!" Jeff said ecstatically.

"You like picking berries?" Bogg asked, amused. He was thankful that Jeff was feeling better. Maybe he didn't need to respond to every one of Jeffrey's sad feelings. Maybe, just knowing Bogg was there was enough.

"Just the whole thing. We're gonna eat with Abraham Lincoln's parents, in the cabin where he'll be born. Come on Bogg, don't you think that's amazing?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," Bogg answered as they walked. Seeing each Voyage through Jeff's eyes was amusing. Jeff turned away from him and began to pick some large blackberries beside the path. Behind him Phineas Bogg first smiled, then chuckled at him and shook his head. It was strange that seeing Jeff so happy, actually made him happy and seeing Jeff upset made him upset.

They worked among the berry bushes, gradually separating, in their quest to find the largest berries. When his basket was almost full, Jeffrey looked up and saw Bogg about twenty yards to his left. A large brown bear was halfway between them.

"Bogg," he called out, and the tone of his voice sent chills down Bogg's spine.

Phineas looked up and took in the situation. "Don't move Jeff," he instructed.


	3. The Bear

**Chapter 3 The Bear**

As Phineas scanned the area, he saw two cubs approach from the east and begin feasting on the berries not far from their mother. "Back away from them, and head east," and he watched while Jeffrey slowly moved farther away from the bears, and from him.

Phineas stayed put until he lost sight of Jeffrey and was sure the mother bear hadn't seen or smelled him. She was eating berries with the cubs, and Bogg said a silent prayer, thankful that the wind wasn't blowing either of their scents her way. He knew that he was in more danger than Jeffrey, because of his height. She had ignored him up until now, probably assuming he was a tree. He knew some bears had poor eyesight. However, he also knew that when he moved, she might notice him and see him as a threat.

He took a careful step back, and paused, but she hadn't seemed to notice. Then he took another. This slow process continued for a few more minutes, until finally, the family decided to continue westward, in the direction they had been traveling.

Phineas heaved a sigh of relief that they hadn't backtracked, because that was the direction he'd told Jeff to take. Once the bears were out of sight, he turned his attention, and worry to his new partner. Jeffrey was from one of the biggest cities in the world. What would he do out here in the wilderness? There were many dangers here, and some could be deadly.

Phineas headed toward Jeff's last position. If he could find his trail, he could track him. He hoped the kid had learned somewhere along the line to stay in one place when he was lost and not to wander.

ooOoo

Jeff heard the simple instructions and obeyed immediately. He backed away from the bears, until he couldn't see them, or Bogg any more, and then he looked up at the sky. When he realized which direction east was, he knew the cubs had come from that direction and the family group was probably traveling west. He figured that Bogg had chosen that direction as the best one to escape from them. As he made his way through the brush, he realized he would have to find Bogg again.

Suddenly he realized that Bogg had been very close to those bears when he'd told Jeff to leave. What if the bear had attacked Bogg? Here he stopped. What should he do? Keep going east? But how would Bogg find him? Stay put and wait for Bogg to find him? But what if he was hurt? Or go back and approach cautiously, to see what was happening? The wind was blowing toward the east, it would be in his face as he approached, so the mother bear wouldn't be able to smell him if she was still there.

He stood weighing the possibilities, and finally made a decision. He would backtrack to where he'd started, to see what was happening. If they were lucky, the bears would have moved on and Bogg would be close by.

The path back was easy to follow, and as he started across a grassy area, he saw him, "Bogg!" Jeff shouted and ran into his arms. Bogg caught him and held him tightly for a few seconds and then set him down. "You're all right, what happened with the bear?" Jeff asked as he looked up into Bogg's face.

"I thought I lost you," Phineas began, his fear giving way to relief.

"What happened with the bear?" Jeff repeated.

"I did what you did, backed up slow, she didn't see me, and then they moved on." He paused, and then his voice became more firm, "why were you coming back, I told you what to do and coming back wasn't part of it."

Jeff's stomach tightened into a knot. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said quietly, looking at the ground.

"What if the bear was still there," Bogg said in a stern voice. "You getting killed wouldn't help me!"

Jeff froze, wondering if this was enough to change Bogg's feeling that keeping him around just _'felt right'_.

"I told you to do what I did for a reason!" Bogg continued loudly.

"I thought you might need help, you were closer to that bear than I was!" Jeff countered loudly, his temper flaring, "and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find you!"

"I was tracking you, if you had just stopped and waited for me, it wouldn't have been a problem," Bogg shouted.

"You were a pirate, Bogg and in case you didn't notice, there's no water around here!" Jeff shouted back moving his arm in an arc across the area to demonstrate his point . "How was I supposed to know you could track!"

"What if she had gone after you! How much chance do you think you'd have if you had accidentally gotten between her and those cubs!"

"The wind was in my face, she wouldn't have smelled me!" Jeff answered, holding his own.

Phineas Bogg paused as his mind raced through the events of the last half-hour. He had been as close to panic as he'd ever been, and for a Voyager, that was saying something. Jeff had stayed calm and obeyed him right away as soon as he spoke. He couldn't really blame him for thinking independently after they were out of contact, all Voyagers were pretty much on their own in every situation. After all, headquarters never told him what to do. How he dealt with problems was his choice, and Jeff had just used the same independent thinking all Voyagers used. He'd considered the wind direction, and was following the same trail back. He looked away, trying to take it all in. He was responsible for Jeffrey's safety, yet here they were, in this dangerous situation. And there would be many more dangerous situations if Jeff stayed with him too.

"You left an easy trail to follow," he finally said in a softer voice.

"I figured you'd try to track me. I didn't know how good you were," Jeff replied hesitantly, secretly hopeful because Bogg's tone didn't seem angry any more.

"I'm good, but it's always a good idea to leave an easy trail, if you want to be found."

Jeff nodded and looked down at his basket, "didn't even lose a berry."

Bogg smiled and shook his head, "me either."

As they walked back, Jeff finally got up the nerve to ask the question. "Bogg?"

"Yeah."

Silence.

Phineas stopped walking and looked down at Jeff, "what?"

"I was just wondering," Jeff paused for a long time.

Finally Phineas had to ask again, "what?"

"Was this enough to make you think it doesn't feel right any more? Keeping me I mean?" Jeff finally asked.

Bogg sighed and knelt down so he could look straight at the kid, and finally noticed how upset he was.

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just... I don't know, I didn't know what else to say."

"So was this enough?" Jeff swallowed hard as he waited for an answer.

Bogg thought for a long time before answering, "you acted like a real Voyager. You didn't panic, did what I said, and then, when you had no contact with me, you did what any Voyager would do, you looked at your options, and made a choice. I shouldn't have found fault with that, it's just that," he sighed, "it was a mother bear Jeff, and they can kill a person very easily."

Jeff listened with rapt attention. Bogg had said he'd acted like a real Voyager. He smiled broadly.

"Besides," Bogg continued, "things like this wouldn't make me change my mind, there are plenty of real reasons why you shouldn't be with me."

Jeff's smile disappeared instantly, "like what?" he asked, worriedly.

Phineas regretted saying it as soon as the words were out, but since he had, he had to continue. He decided not to tell Jeff about the Code and what headquarters would think. "Well, for one thing, I don't know anything about taking care of a kid. And I mean that. And what I do is dangerous. What would your parents say if they knew I was putting you in front of a wild bear one minute and in a war zone the next? Would they want me to keep you? Do I have a right to put you in danger?" He paused, "but I'm doing it anyway, every day. I doubt a jury would go easy on me, they'd probably say I kidnapped you."

"You saved my life when I fell out that window!" Jeff answered. "And I wanted to come with you, and as for what my parents would think, well, if they knew what I know, they'd want me to be with you."

"You think?"

"Definitely."

Phineas took a deep breath, sighed, and shook his head, as uncertain and confused as ever. "Time to get back," he said finally.

As they headed back to the cabin, Bogg thought again that he was impressed with Jeffrey. He hadn't panicked when he saw the bear, and he'd reacted as well as any Academy graduate. He had all the characteristics of a natural born Voyager. And Jeff had been worried about him too. Not only that, but he'd been ready to help him if he was hurt. Who would've thought that? He was some kid. Once again, he came to the same conclusion he always reached when he thought about this odd situation. For now, he would teach Jeff everything he could and take care of him the best he could, that's all he could do.

The next morning, as soon as they walked down the trail and were clear of the cabin, Jeff grasped Bogg's arm firmly and watched him push the button.


	4. Partners?

**Chapter 4 Partners?**

They landed in a room, behind some boxes, and though they couldn't see anyone, they knew this was a crowded place. The general din that they immediately heard conveyed that message loud and clear.

"What is this place?" Jeff asked as he looked around.

"Hey Jack, there's a kid back here," a woman's voice spoke.

"Hey," Jeff shouted as a heavyset man with a cigar clamped between his teeth grabbed his forearm roughly and pulled him forward.

Quick as a flash, Bogg grabbed the man's wrist.

"Huh?" Jack grunted as he released his grip on Jeffrey, "let go of me."

"The kid's my partner, hands off," Bogg said in a fierce voice, refusing to release the man's wrist, though he was trying to break away.

"He shouldn't be here," was the gruff reply as Bogg released his grasp.

"Come on kid," Bogg said, motioning Jeffrey to move ahead of him toward the door.

"Idiot," Jack whispered under his breath as he rubbed his wrist and turned away from them.

As Jeff moved through the crowded room, he felt a warmth in his chest. Bogg had said he was his partner. He'd never called Jeff that before.

"What's the date?" Jeff asked with a huge smile on his face as Phineas followed him into the corridor outside the dressing room.

Bogg opened the omni and spoke, "New York City, February 9th, 1964. " He paused, "what're you smiling about?"

"You said I was your partner."

"Well, you are... aren't you?"

"I guess I never thought of it that way before." It was true, he'd thought of himself as Bogg's helper, but a partner was something different.

Bogg glanced around self-consciously, realizing the words had come out without thought. Somewhere along the way, he had begun to think of Jeff as a partner. "Do you wanna be?"

"Definitely!" Jeff answered without pause.

"All right then," Bogg answered, and smiled. Strangely enough, he felt relief at Jeff's answer. He realized he'd actually been worried that Jeffrey might not want to get close to anyone, when he was so obviously still grieving for his parents. What was wrong with him? He shouldn't care what an 11-year old kid thought, should he?

"Bogg?" Jeff said as he stared at a large sign on a wall nearby.

"Yeah?"

"This is the Ed Sullivan Show."

"So?"

"So, it's February, 1964, Bogg, the Beatles are here!" Jeff said excitedly.

"Beetles?" Bogg asked in confusion, "bugs?"

"The Beatles are a singing group," Jeff explained, and Bogg nodded.

"Oh."

"Excuse me sir," Jeff asked a man as he walked by, "where are the Beatles?"

"The what?" was the confused answer.

"The singing group, The Beatles," Jeff repeated.

"Who would ever listen to a singing group called The Beatles?" the man said and laughed as he walked away.

Jeff stared after him in confusion.

"Maybe, they came later."

"No, it was definitely now. They're supposed to be here Bogg, that must be the red light."

"You're sure singers are that important?"

"They changed a whole generation."

"Singers?"

"Yep. Trust me on this."

"So where do we go?" Bogg asked, taking the omni from his belt.

Jeff paused, "well, I've always heard they were from Liverpool, England, but they spent time in Germany. Let's try Liverpool, England, 4 years ago."

"Hold on," Bogg said and they disappeared.

ooOoo

Two hours later they were walking along a dusty street.

"I don't know kid, no one's even heard of the Beatles," Bogg said, and was reminded of the same situation in Kitty Hawk with the Wright Brothers.

"They've gotta be here somewhere," Jeff answered, then tugged on Bogg's arm and pointed to a storefront across the street. The sign read _'McCartney Cotton'._

"Cotton?" Bogg said doubtfully. "What does cotton have to do with singing?"

"Paul McCartney is one of the Beatles," Jeff answered as he hurried across the street. Bogg followed him into the building. "There he is," whispered Jeff as he nudged Phineas with his elbow.

They walked toward a teenage boy and Jeff began.  
>"Hi, I'm Jeffrey Jones, this is my friend, Phineas Bogg," he began.<p>

Bogg smiled when he heard the word 'friend'.

"What can I do for you?" Paul asked.

"Do you play music with John Lennon?" Jeff asked.

"Sometimes, why?"

Jeff paused, "where do you play?" he finally asked.

McCartney shrugged, "in my garage, where else? How do you know us, I don't know you."

"Not in clubs?"

"Clubs? You mean for pay?" When Jeff nodded he continued, "who would want to hear us?"

Jeff turned toward Bogg, who automatically moved away, reading his partner's body language. Jeff wanted to talk alone, that was clear.

"Now what?" Bogg asked.

"I don't know. They're supposed to be a group of four, singing in clubs by now."

They stood together thinking, until Phineas touched his shoulder and moved his head toward the door.

"We have to go back farther," Phineas told him.

Jeff stared across the street, deep in thought. "If we go back to when they were kids, we wouldn't know where to look, and we wouldn't know what was supposed to happen every minute. How could we know how to set the omni?

"The omni puts us at critical junctures in lives, at important events. What was important to these Beatles?"

"Well, they were the first rock and roll band."

"What made them start playing different from everyone else?" Bogg asked.

"Their music was a combination of other kinds of music. Bogg!" Jeff voice grew excited, "they listened to Elvis when they were growing up! Maybe Elvis wasn't singing."

"Who?"

Jeff rolled his eyes, "Elvis Presley, Bogg, don't tell me you've never heard of him?"

"Course I have," Bogg answered, "go and ask then," and he waved Jeff back toward the door. After he'd left, Phineas murmured under his breath, "yeah, like I remember every entertainer in the world."

Not a minute later Jeff returned and his smile told Bogg all he wanted to know, "he's never heard of Elvis!"

"Where to kid," Bogg said as he flipped the omni open.

"Tupelo, Mississippi, but I'm not sure when," Jeff said as the smile left his face.

Bogg seemed to be able to read this kids emotions like a book.

"If we've got a location and approximate time, the automatic mode should kick in and bring us to any red lights," he explained.

"He was born in the 1930s, so the 30s or 40s maybe?"

"Hang on," Bogg said as he pushed the button.


	5. Shotgun Approach

**Chapter 5 Shotgun Approach**

They landed on a gently sloping lawn and got quickly to their feet.

"Not as good as a haystack, but I'll take it," Bogg remarked as he stood up.

"This doesn't look like Mississippi in the 30s or 40s. Where are we Bogg?" Jeff asked as he looked around.

"Vienna, Austria, 1847, red light."

"How're we gonna fix Elvis from here?" Jeff asked anxiously.

Bogg put the omni back on his belt, "we've got a red light here and now, so let's get to work on it. Got any ideas?"

Jeff's mind was a blank, "not yet," he admitted softly.

Bogg glanced over at him. He knew Jeff always wanted to have the answers, and as much as Bogg wanted that to be true too, he also knew it was an unrealistic expectation. He sighed, "well, I guess we'll find out if we stay here long enough."

As they started walking down the sidewalk together, they heard a dog barking. The barking got rapidly louder and soon snarling and growling could be heard. Bogg strained to see where the animal was, but could only see a knot of men ahead. Then, a large black dog broke through the group and headed directly toward them. Bogg stopped and reached for Jeffrey, pulling the boy behind him as he picked up a loose brick. It wasn't much, and he didn't have another, so he swung the brick, hitting the dog's nose and keeping hold of it so he could use it again.

The dog faced them, his growl low and menacing, and Bogg's heart pounded in his chest so fast and hard that he imagined the whole world could hear it.

"Keep him there," called a man with a net. He didn't have to say it twice, Bogg wasn't about to move, or do anything to make the dog move.

Two men with nets slowly approached from behind, and while the dog's attention was on Bogg, they threw their nets onto the dog. They forced him into a large sack and hauled him away toward a wagon across the road.

"Thanks for your help, been trying to get that dog all day," one of the men said, finally acknowledging Phineas and Jeffrey.

Bogg gave him a half smile and waved as the man left, then slowly eased himself onto a low wall beside the sidewalk, breathing hard.

"I hope they don't hurt him," Jeff said as he stood beside him.

"You mean the dog?" Phineas said as he waited for his heartbeat to slow down.

"Yeah."

"The dog that tried to attack us?"

"He was probably just hungry."

Bogg shook his head, his heart still thumping too loudly inside his chest.

Jeff stared at him, "hey, what's wrong?"

Bogg just shook his head.

"You hurt?" Jeff asked, panic in his voice as he reached out and touched Bogg's shoulder.

"Don't worry kid, I'm fine," Bogg reassured him immediately.

Jeff stared at his partner, then cocked his head to one side, unsure what to make of Bogg's actions. He looked fine, but he continued to sit on the wall, as though he needed to rest. He kept his hand on Bogg's shoulder and stared at him uncertainly, until he finally made a move to stand up.

"Are you alright?" asked a foreign sounding voice, and they both turned toward it to see a woman approach.

"Yes, thanks," Bogg answered, straightening up

"I saw that dog attacking, it's lucky you were able to grab the loose brick."

Bogg stuck out his hand, "Phineas Bogg, this is Jeffrey Jones."

"Jane Randall, I'm a midwife at the obstetrics hospital," and she pointed to a large brick building as she spoke. She wore a plain brown dress and carried a large satchel.

"What's obstetrics?" Jeffrey asked, and Bogg turned to the girl and listened to the answer.

"We deliver babies," she said smiling.

"Let me help you," Bogg said, reaching for her satchel, "where are you heading?"

"Thanks," she said, relinquishing the load to him, "just up the street," and she pointed to a sign that read 'Vienna General Hospital.'

They fell into step. "So, what are you going there for?"

Jane sighed and smiled, "because I might be able to get my point across, finally."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked as they walked.

She stopped and turned to them, and her dark eyes met Phineas' bright blue eyes. She gasped, hesitating momentarily. Jeff rolled his eyes as she stammered. He knew Bogg would never return the attention though. Not only was she dressed drabbly, but her hair was pulled back tightly into a bun, and her features were very plain.

"I... I have some statistics to show them," she answered after looking away from Bogg to clear her head.

"Statistics about what?" Bogg asked and smiled at her warmly.

"Death rates mostly."

Bogg's expression clouded, "what are you trying to do?" he asked seriously.

She sighed and continued on as the 3 of them crossed the street. "We have a very low death rate from childbed fever."

"That's good then, right?" Bogg asked.

"Oh it's very good, but," here she paused and looked up at the tall, forbidding building they had finally reached, "they don't."

"They don't?" Jeff asked.

She shook her head. "They won't admit how bad it is, but I've been keeping my own records of their admissions and deaths, and take it from me, it's much higher."

"So what are you trying to do?" Bogg repeated.

"Convince them to watch the way we do things and compare it to their way. That's the only way I know to figure out why our death rate is so much lower than theirs."

"That sounds logical," Bogg said.

"Except that I doubt they'll listen to me."

"Why won't they listen?"

"Because doctors run this hospital, and they think they know more than the midwives," she answered in a frustrated voice. "But I've decided that I've got to try. I can't keep watching this happen, day in and day out."

They stood in silence, each in thought.

"How can we help you?" Phineas asked in a serious voice.

She smiled, "I don't think you can, dressed like that."

The boys exchanged glances, "we'll be back," Phineas said as they hurried off.

ooOoo

An hour later, they approached the same spot, this time Phineas was well dressed. As they started up the stairs, the door opened and Jane stepped out.

"Phineas?" she asked in surprise, looking him up and down.

"Did they listen?" Jeff asked.

"Oh yeah, he finally listened to the statistics, but he made fun of the way we do things. He didn't believe my numbers were right. They'll never take us seriously." She shook her head sadly, "it's just such a crime. Any woman who delivers a baby here has a 13% chance of dying of childbed fever. In our hospital it's 2%. It's just such a crime."

"Let's go in again," Bogg said.

"Yeah, Bogg's a man, if he talks, this guy might pay more attention. Men didn't think women were very smart in this time."

"This time?" she said in confusion.

Jeff paused and glanced at Bogg, who threw him a stern look.

"Yeah, this time of year," Bogg said quickly, "in the spring, lots of men think women's heads are filled with thoughts of love."

"Oh," she said softly as Phineas opened the door and followed her in.

"I thought you'd left?" asked a young man at a desk.

"Is anyone here named Lister, Koch, Semmelweis or Pasteur?" Jeff interrupted.

"Well," the young man was caught off guard, "Dr. Semmelweis is here now, but I don't know those others."

"That's okay," Jeff said confidently, "we need to see him, it's urgent."

Bogg turned to him, "what was that about?" he asked.

"Shotgun approach," Jeff whispered, then as a man in a white coat appeared, he paused, "Dr. Semmelweis?"

"Yes," the doctor spoke in a heavy Hungarian accent.

Jeff turned to Jane, "did you talk to him before?"

"No."

"You need to hear what she has to say," Jeff told the doctor, and looked around and motioned them all into an empty room.

Bogg followed along, listening to his young companion.

"Check the omni," Jeff whispered as he stopped at the door and watched them sit down at a conference table. He motioned for Bogg to stay in the hall.

"It's green," Bogg answered in awe, and followed Jeff as he turned and headed back out onto the street. "So, tell me about the shotgun approach?" he asked.

"I couldn't remember which famous doctor came first, so I named them all. They all had something to do with how to prevent infections."

Bogg nodded, "we actually learned that technique at the Academy. Just in case we didn't have our guidebook."

"Really?" Jeff asked in amazement.

"Yeah kid, you're a natural at this," Bogg answered and as he watched Jeffrey's eyes light up, he thought again that he really could create this kid's world. Especially now, when he seemed so vulnerable. He shuddered to think what would've happened to Jeff if a Voyager who needed to be in control of each voyage had fallen into his room. There were a few like that, and he knew they would never let a boy take charge. He found he didn't want to think about what Jeff's reaction would be if his opinions weren't listened to, or he was ignored. He could picture the kid giving up and didn't like to think of it. He was strong, but his whole world had been stolen away when his parents died and his aunt hadn't given him anything to replace it. What he needed now was someone who cared, and apparently, that someone was Bogg, as crazy as that seemed.

"Something wrong?" Jeff asked and Phineas realized he'd been thinking too long.

"Nope, where to now?"

"We should go see Elvis now," Jeff reminded him happily as he grasped his arm and Bogg turned the dials and pushed a button.


	6. Elvis

**Chapter 6 Elvis**

"I think that's her," Jeff whispered, tugging on Bogg's arm and pointing across the narrow street to a woman who was looking into the window display of a hardware store. He crossed his arms in front of him, rubbing them as he shivered.

"I thought Elvis was a guy?" Bogg whispered back, glancing at Jeff's reaction to the cold weather.

"Not him, his mother," Jeff said in exasperation, but smiled to himself. He enjoyed telling Bogg things he didn't know.

"Why are we looking at his mother?"

"You just said it was January, 1946."

"So?"

"Bogg, he's ten years old, I saw a picture of his mother once, and that's her... and a ten year old kid would be with his parents," suddenly he stopped and looked away.

Bogg waited quietly.

A few seconds later, Jeff looked back and continued, "there he is," and he pointed to a dark haired boy who approached the woman. "I think he gets his first guitar this year," Jeff continued, "come on," and he started across the street.

Bogg walked beside him and put his hand on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. He could see and feel Jeff's reaction, almost immediately he stood up taller. It was hard to believe that such a simple thing could effect Jeffrey so much, but it had. Once again it struck him that his actions could make a world of difference for Jeff. In some ways that was a scary feeling, yet in other ways he felt in awe of the power it held.

By the time they reached the mother and son, Jeffrey felt back to normal, ready to immerse himself in solving this red light.

"That's the one!" the young boy squealed excitedly as he pointed at the window. There was no mistaking who it was, the child looked a lot like the famous singer he would become.

"Elvis, it's very expensive," his mother said hesitantly.

The boys face fell, "I know," he paused, "but just look at it Ma."

Jeff followed his gaze, and glanced up at Bogg in surprise when he saw that Elvis was pointing to a bright red bicycle sitting in the window. A price tag hung off the handlebars, it read $20.95.

Bogg took in the scene, trying to figure out what these people were like. He came to the conclusion that they were quite poor. He held out his hand toward the mother in greeting, "Phineas Bogg," he introduced himself, "this is my nephew, Jeff."

"Gladys Presley," she said in response, "and this is Elvis." Then she tapped the boy's shoulder, "come see this, honey," she said and drew him away from the bike to the window on the other side of the door.

The boy moved reluctantly, keeping his eyes glued to the bike. "What about this?" she said, and pointed at a guitar in the window. The price tag read $12.95."

Elvis looked at the guitar, then back to the bike. "What about it?" he finally asked.

"This would make a nice birthday present, wouldn't it?"

Jeff stared at Elvis, then back at the bike.

Elvis hung his head, "I'm the only kid without a bike," was all he said.

"You'd like the guitar, haven't I heard you sing in church?" Jeff asked, taking a gamble.

Elvis looked at him, "I don't remember seeing you around."

"We're new here," Jeff answered quickly. "You do sing though, right?"

"I can sing without a guitar, but I can't ride without a bike," Elvis replied stubbornly.

Jeff backed away and motioned Bogg to follow him a few yards from where the Presley's stood, so they could speak.

"Okay," Jeff began excitedly, "he needs to get the guitar, not the bike. Why don't I stick with Elvis and try to convince him."

"That doesn't give me anything to do," Bogg whispered.

"Look," Jeff said, pointing to Mrs. Presley, who had just taken a sign off the door of the store. It read _'Help Wanted-Part Time'_, "you've got to get that job so she doesn't."

"Are you sure the kid can't have the bike?" Bogg asked.

"Yeah, I remember he got his first guitar on his 11th birthday."

"And he became famous?"

"Very."

"With a guitar?"

"Yep."

"When he doesn't even want one?" Bogg's tone was skeptical. Bogg paused, "how can you possibly remember what some singer got on his 11th birthday?"

"Gotta go," Jeff said suddenly and jogged after Elvis as he started walking away.

Bogg watched him go and shook his head. It was nice to see Jeff with another kid, but now he had to steal a job out from under a poor woman who wanted to earn some extra money to buy her kid the bike he wanted for his birthday. It just felt mean, he thought as he too began rubbing hands together and blowing into them to warm up. He sighed, _'well I've had to do a lot worse_' he thought to himself as he followed her into the store.

"Hello Mr. Martin," Mrs. Presley began and the man tipped his hat in her direction.

"I'd like to apply for the job," Bogg interrupted loudly, lengthening his stride so he had moved beside her.

"Excellent!" Mr. Martin replied.

"I was just going to say the same thing, I'd like the job too," Mrs. Presley said, staring up at Bogg. Phineas kept his face toward Mr. Martin, giving him an earnest look and completely ignored her. Inside he felt horrible, but it had to be done.

"Both of you?"

They both nodded in agreement.

"Son, you aren't dressed for the weather," the man said, looking Bogg up and down.

"No sir, that's why I need the job," Phineas answered, thinking quickly. "We just had a fire, lost everything," he paused, "I'll do any kind of work."

"Where are you staying?" Martin asked.

Bogg paused, "wherever we can find shelter... my nephew and me."

"My Lord, you're sleeping outside?" Gladys interrupted.

Bogg shrugged, "only when we have to."

"Give him the job," she said to Martin, then turned to Bogg, "you can come home with me, we don't have much, but I can spare a coat for you and the boy."


	7. Maryann

**Chapter 7 Maryann**

"I really can't thank you enough," Phineas said as he walked beside Gladys down the dusty side street. Each house they passed was more run-down than the next.

"There before the grace of God," she replied. A few minutes later she continued, "I want to tell you about my friend Maryann." She stopped and faced him, "I think maybe you can help each other out."

"How?"

"Her son Clem was killed in the war. She's alone in that house, they were planning on renting out two rooms after he got back. I've been telling her to go ahead with that plan, she could use the money. But she keeps saying she's not ready... it's been three years."

"It's hard to move on sometimes," Bogg said softly.

"I'm sure I could convince her to take you in, now that you've got a job. You could pay her when Mr. Martin pays you. How would that be?"

Bogg nodded, touched by her kind nature, "that would be perfect, thank-you."

"Come on in," she said as she turned down a dirt path that led to a 2-room house.

Bogg followed along, hoping that Jeff was inside getting warm.

"I'll just start the bacon fryin, then I'll find you some coats," she said and went first to the stove, and next to a closet in the corner. Soon Bogg could smell bacon and hear it sizzling.

"Where are the boys?" Bogg asked.

"Elvis will be back soon for supper, I'm sure. He's probably just showing your nephew the neighborhood."

Sure enough, not five minutes later, Elvis and Jeffrey rushed in. They were smiling, flushed from running.

"Ma, it's time for supper!" Elvis called out.

"Here you go," Gladys said as she passed two coats across the table, one to Phineas and one to Jeff. "Go wash your hands," she directed the boys.

"Thank you," Phineas and Jeff both said in unison and immediately pulled the coats on. Even though they were indoors, Bogg still felt chilled, and could tell that Jeff was feeling the cold as well.

After washing up, Jeff stared at Elvis, and finally spoke, "what are you doing?"

"Making supper," Elvis grinned as he set slices of banana across the peanut butter he had just spread on a slice of bread.

"Peanut butter and bananas?"

"Peanut butter an nanner's my favorite, but it's not done yet," the future star answered.

"Here you go," Gladys said as she turned from the stove and pushed a slice of bacon onto the top of the banana.

"Now it's done," Elvis declared and started eating.

"I guess I've never heard of that," Jeff finished lamely, glancing up at Bogg and shivering involuntarily, despite the coat.

"It's my favorite," Elvis said with his mouth full.

"Help yourself," Gladys told them, setting the frying pan on the table next to the bread and peanut butter.

After the meal, Gladys spoke. "Well, let's go get you a place to stay." She rose and put on her coat, "and tomorrow you should start school," she said to Jeff.

The walk to Maryann's house was fairly short. But, even at dusk Jeff could tell it was in a better section of the city. He remembered that a few blocks in New York could sometimes make the difference between affluence and poverty.

Once there, he and Bogg stood outside while Gladys went in to speak with her friend.

"This is a much bigger house," Bogg observed, "hey look, they even have a swing."

Jeff followed his gaze and there was just enough light to make out a tire swing hung from the low branch of a large tree. He turned away quickly and kicked a stick that lay on the ground, it landed across the street. Immediately he moved to kick another stick just as hard.

Bogg watched in silence as Jeff kicked the sticks.

"Come in," Gladys' voice could be heard from the front door.

Jeff walked quickly away from Bogg and toward the door, followed by Phineas.

"This is Maryann Schmidt," she introduced them and they all exchanged pleasantries. Maryann was a thin woman with a long face and gray hair pulled into a bun. Though her words were welcoming, she didn't smile.

"Well, the room is this way," Maryann said, "it isn't much."

"We don't need much," Bogg assured her.

"There's only the one bed."

"It'll be great," he continued.

ooOoo

They stood together in the room and took it all in. It was a nine foot by twelve foot space, with a twin bed against one wall.

"Still red?" Jeff asked.

Bogg took the omni off his belt and flipped it open, "still red."

"I guess I'm going to school tomorrow," Jeff said as he sat down at the only desk in the room. "He really wants the bike."

"Yeah, and I guess I'm going to work."

"At least it wasn't venison again," Jeff said and finally cracked a smile.

Bogg smiled back, "did you see the rags they had stuffed in the corners?" Bogg asked.

Jeff nodded, "it was to keep out the cold, wasn't it?" he asked.

"It was a common practice in this time, if you were poor, that is."

"They had so little, but they fed us, gave us clothes, and found us a place to stay."

Bogg took off his boots and stretched out on the bed, "I've found that a lot of times, it's the people who have the least who are the most generous."

Jeff reached up to a shelf above the desk and took down a book. He thumbed idly through it, but his mind wasn't on the book. He was thinking about what Bogg had just said. It occurred to him that Bogg was the poorest person he had ever met. He had the least amount of things, really he had nothing except his clothes and the omni. He remembered the feel of Bogg's hand on his shoulder as he crossed the street and felt a lump in his throat. He glanced nervously toward the bed, hoping Bogg wouldn't ask him a question when he didn't feel he could answer. To his surprise, his partner was asleep. Jeff stared at him quietly for a moment, then brushed tears from his eyes and turned to the first page of the book.

ooOoo

Phineas Bogg opened his eyes and glanced around the room. The clock on the bureau hadn't been wound, perhaps in years, so he couldn't tell what time it was. Jeff lay on his stomach on the floor, his elbows on a pillow he'd found, engrossed in a book that was propped against a leg of the desk. The site gave him a warm feeling, different from anything he'd felt before meeting Jeff. He was again struck by the certainty that he was doing the right thing. Jeff belonged with him. He didn't know why, it didn't seem logical, but he was sure of it.

"What did you find to read?" he asked, sitting up and stretching.

Jeff looked up and smiled at him. "You must've been tired," he observed.

"Yeah, well, I figured I'd take my turn first."

"Huh?"

"On the bed," Bogg explained as he swung his legs onto the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"You take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor," Bogg explained.

Jeff paused, "the last time we had a bed was at Henry Ford's place, and I got it. You should take it this time."

"You've gotta go to school tomorrow."

"You've gotta go to work."

Bogg sighed, "okay, we'll switch off every other day, but you first, you got too cold today, I want you off the floor overnight."

"Being cold doesn't make you sick Bogg, viruses make you sick, everyone knows that."

Phineas looked at him in frustration, "just humor me?"

"Okay," Jeff said, and rewarded him with a huge smile.

"It must be good," Bogg said, indicating the book, "you're half done already."

"Yeah, it's one of the Hardy Boys books I haven't read yet, it's #11 While the Clock Ticked."

"Hardy Boys?"

"Sort of a detective series, don't worry about it," Jeff laughed.


	8. The Tire Swing

**Chapter 8: Friday, January 4th: The Tire Swing **

**Bogg's Day**

The Tupelo Hardware Company was busier than Phineas had anticipated. He spent his first morning restocking shelves, and when he finally got to the front of the store, he happened to glance out the window and see Gladys Presley looking at the bicycle again. He hurried out to speak to her.

"Mrs. Presley!"

"Hello Phineas."

"I wanted to thank you again, for supper and helping us get the room."

She smiled, "it was a pleasure," then she turned back to the bike. "I can see why he wants it, it is beautiful," she said wistfully.

Bogg paused, "you know, sometimes what a boy wants and what he needs are two different things."

"You don't think I should buy him the bicycle?"

"Well, I just think you might be a better judge of what he needs than he is." He stopped talking to give her time to think.

"He does love music," she whispered. "Well, his birthday's this Tuesday, and I do have the money..."

"I thought you needed this job to buy it?"

"I wanted the job so I didn't have to dip into my emergency fund."

Bogg stared at her set expression, but found it hard to read.

"The General Store needs some help too," she whispered and looked across the street at a new sign in the window that read 'Help Wanted'. You aren't going to follow me over there too, are you?"

"No ma'am," the answer was out before Phineas could decide what to say. If she got that job, she might make enough to buy the bike after all. Yet, after how she had treated them, he couldn't bring himself to steal another job from her.

He watched with dread as she crossed the street and entered the store. He hoped Jeff was having better luck.

**Jeff's Day**

Jeffrey met Elvis in the schoolyard the next morning and went in with him. Elvis' teacher sent him to the principal to be registered and assigned to a classroom.

"Are you alone?" the principal asked.

"No sir, my uncle is working at the hardware store. We're new here."

"Well, I'll put you into a classroom and your uncle can sign you in later. What grade are you in?"

"Uh... in my last school, I was in fourth grade," he lied. He had found out from Elvis that he was in fourth grade, so that's where Jeff felt he should be too.

"How old are you?"

"Eleven."

"Well all right, go down to room 6 and give the teacher this note."

So Jeff was put into Elvis' class, still trying to figure out how to convince him that he should get the guitar.

It was a long, boring day for Jeffrey, he already knew most of what was being taught. Towards the end of the day, they had to write an essay, and then the bell rang. He stuck with Elvis the rest of the afternoon, until he had to go inside. Then he meandered over to Maryann's house and stood staring at the tire swing in the side yard. He could feel both his parents hands on his back, pushing him on a swing very much like this one. His mother would push him with a soft touch, but somehow he'd swing as high as when his dad pushed him, even though his dad seemed to push much harder. Up until now, when he'd thought of his parents, it was always about the accident. This was the first time he could remember letting in a better memory. He would never feel their hands push him again, he thought sadly. He let out one sob and then sniffed and straightened up.

Finally, he moved toward the swing, climbed on top of the tire and sat, remembering picnics in the backyard with his mother during summer vacations when he was younger and tossing a baseball back and forth with his father. A tear trickled quietly down each cheek as he cautiously let in each memory, afraid of feeling more pain, yet finally feeling the need to remember them when they were happy.

"Hey, get off that swing!" Maryann's loud, angry voice was a shock and Jeff jumped off the swing, his heart pounding. She stormed over to him, "you have no right to sit on that without permission. Who do you think you are!"

Jeff felt a lump in his throat. "I didn't mean anything," he said, wiping his tear-streaked face with his sleeve, "honest." They stood staring at each other for a few seconds before Jeff turned and ran away.

Maryann watched him run and continued to stand in the yard trembling. Her shoulders heaved as she re-entered the house. She fell into a kitchen chair, tears streaming down her cheeks and let out a long, mournful wail. She knew there was no one close enough to hear it. She bent over, holding her head in both hands for several minutes until there were no tears left. She hadn't cried that much in a very long time. She sat staring at the wall for a long time, as if in a trance. When her new borders entered through the front door, much later, she was still there and didn't even hear them.

ooOoo

Jeff ran until he was within site of the hardware store, but then he stopped. Filled with dread, he realized he'd have to tell Bogg about what he had done and how angry it had made Maryann. He hadn't meant to do anything wrong, he didn't know why it was so wrong, it just wasn't fair. Falling into an old pattern of thought, he wondered if Bogg might decide he had caused too much trouble. Slowly, dreading what he had to do, he approached the store.

"And you push this to open the drawer to get the change." Mr. Martin was just explaining the cash register to Phineas when the bell tinkled as Jeff walked in. "Understand?"

"Yes," Phineas replied, glancing up and registering that it was Jeffrey who had walked in. Mr. Martin left for the rear of the store as Jeff approached.

"You okay?" Bogg asked. Jeff's expression didn't look right.

The words tumbled out quickly, "I messed up, I'm sorry, it was an accident, I didn't mean anything," then Jeff waited, staring at the floor, expecting the worst.

"What happened?" Bogg asked worriedly, getting down on one knee so they could talk eye to eye.

"I sat on the swing, honest, that's all I did," he said in a voice that squeezed Phineas' heart until it hurt, "she came out... and screamed that... I had no right ..." Jeff's gasping breaths interrupted the words until he couldn't go on.

As Jeff described the episode with the swing, Phineas understood. The mission was in tact, this problem was something that didn't matter to the time stream, at least that was Bogg's guess. His own reaction to Jeff's tone of voice though, was more than he expected. He hated to see Jeff so upset, but for him to feel physical pain this way was unbelieveable.

He looked at Jeff and realized how scared he seemed, like he thought he'd be punished. Suddenly, the realization of Jeffrey's young age hit him. This was something any kid would be upset about. Add to that what he knew about Jeff's situation and his reaction to seeing the swing last evening and it must seem intolerable to him. He put his hand on Jeff's shoulder and spoke softly. "Any kid would've climbed onto that swing, that's what kids do. It's okay. It probably holds an important memory for her." He paused, "maybe for you too,"he whispered.

Jeff looked into Bogg's eyes, he wasn't getting yelled at, and it didn't sound like he'd be punished either. It seemed like Bogg just understood. He sniffed once and began to calm down. Finally he wiped his eyes.

"I think Gladys wants us to stir up Maryann's memories a bit, I told you her son died in the war. Maybe he loved that swing when he was a kid."

Jeff nodded, then leaned forward and gave Bogg a hug.

Phineas wrapped his arms around Jeffrey and held him long and tightly, feeling a cascade of emotions he'd never felt before. When Jeff finally released his grip, Phineas let go too, "feel better?" he asked.

Jeff nodded, and smiled, surprised at how good he actually felt.

Phineas stood back up. "How'd you make out with Elvis?"

"He wants that bike Bogg, real bad. I tried my best, but I don't think he'll change his mind. He had to go in early and his mom wouldn't let him back out, so I can't even talk to him again until tomorrow."

"I talked to Gladys about it today." Bogg shook his head, "she is a strong woman. I gave her a few things to consider, but she'll make up her own mind. I don't think she can be persuaded either."

Silence.

"Well, I'm done in a half hour, why don't you just wait on the bench over there."


	9. Trevor Dillon

**Trevor Dillon**

Outside the Tupelo Hardware Company, two men stood side by side, looking in the window, their eyes glued to the emotional scene being played out inside the store. The older one had kind eyes and short grayish hair, and had an air of authority about him.

"You're not going to interfere, are you?" the younger man asked quietly. He was tall, with dark hair and eyes, and looked in awe at the older.

"I don't think so, Clement," Trevor Dillon responded.

"But, this is against the Code!" Even though it was whispered, the tone was strong.

"We've got green lights in 1982, and Bogg's continuing to do his job, that's all I need to know."

"But, his Guidebook!"

"I retrieved it last night." Dillon paused, "nice dog."

"You could've told me this, why did you bring me here?"

"I thought we both needed to see this. Me, because I'm not reporting this to the Tribunal, and you, because you will be the only one who knows."

Clement shook his head, "you must really trust me."

"You noticed the increase in Mass on Bogg's trips through the cosmos, you would've figured it out eventually. In a way, I'm forced to trust you. Besides, I wanted you to see what they're doing for your mother."

Clement froze, "my... mother?"

"Yes. It's one of those rare, yet wonderful benefits of Voyaging. By keeping Jeffrey, Bogg is helping both Jeffrey and Maryann to grieve." He looked at Clem, "helping with that won't have an effect on the timestream, but it will have a big effect on individual lives." He paused, "and, it can be a lot more satisfying than just moving from one problem to the next, like we so often do."

"We'll both be in trouble when the Tribunal finds out, and you know they will, eventually."

"I'm in charge of Mission Control, I'll say I ordered you to ignore the Mass increase. You're still new, they won't hold you responsible."

"You could talk to Garth, he'd understand," the younger man argued.

"If I share this with anyone, I'd have to ask them to break the rules and not report it. I'm not putting Garth, or anybody in that position. Especially with this new philosophy that Voyager Drake is proposing, '_follow the rules at any cost'. _I've never liked the sound of those words,_ 'at any cost," it _makes me shiver. No, if Drake ever got wind of this, he'd have a field day, and he's already got a grudge against Bogg for some reason. Everyone knows that. No, this has to stay with us."

"I've only been out of the academy for a month, and already I have to hide something from the Tribunal?"

"You're the one who wanted to take the Administration Track instead of preparing for Field Work," Dillon chuckled. "Welcome to my world."

"Is your world full of many children voyaging?"

"My world is sometimes full of unusual things, that's true." he answered, then switched to a more forceful tone, "I want you tracking Bogg and the boy from now on. What do you say?"

Clem looked back through the window and sighed, "Bogg must be some Voyager. His mission record is perfect, yet he breaks the Code by picking up a stray kid?"

"He's one of the very best we've got, but I think Providence put them together somehow, and he just feels that it's right."

"You believe in that superstition?"

"Don't you think it's interesting that it's your mother they're helping, and you discovered the increase in Mass when Bogg travels?" Trevor waited, but Clem didn't speak. "The answer to your question is, yes, I do," Trevor said with finality.

They watched as Bogg collected the $3.20 he had earned that day. They turned away from the window and pulled up their collars to hide their faces as Phineas and Jeffrey exited the store. As they headed down the street, they saw Bogg's hand move to rest on Jeff's shoulder, and the boy's arm slip around his back.

"They look like a family," Clem observed.

"And we're not breaking them up, are we?"

"No sir."

"Trevor Dillon smiled, '_mission accomplished', _he thought to himself, "time to go," and the two men disappeared_._

ooOoo

Phineas and Jeff had supper at the Tupelo Diner, which was not far down the street.

"Everything's so cheap!" Jeff exclaimed as he scanned the menu. "A whole meatloaf dinner for 55 cents?"

They ate supper together, and after they finished it, Bogg pulled out the omni again. He flipped it open and stared at it in disbelief. Jeff leaned over to see the green light.

"How'd that happen?" Jeff asked.

"Gladys must've decided he'd be better off with the guitar."

"Why?"

"Because kids know what they want, but not always what they need."

Jeff stared at him, "you're kidding, right?"

"Or maybe you got through to Elvis," Bogg continued, wanting Jeff to feel like he contributed. But he was sure the decision had been Gladys' to make.

"It doesn't feel like we really did anything," Jeff said, "and now we can just leave?"

"Once in awhile Voyaging is like that. The right choice needs to be made and it's hard to know exactly what you did to change someone's mind."

"Oh," Jeff whispered. This new wrinkle in Voyaging was one he'd have to consider. "Then, anything and everything we do could have an effect on the future?"

"Yeah," Phineas answered, "but a lot of what we do just gets lost and doesn't change the timestream at all." He paused, "well, I don't know about you, but I'm tired. I think we'll stay the night and leave in the morning."

"Even though Elvis' birthday isn't until Tuesday?"

"Gladys won't change her mind," he answered with a tone of certainty that Jeff hadn't heard before.

So they headed back to Maryann's house, entered quietly and went straight to their room.

As Jeffrey lay on the rug in a make-shift bed, his mind was a blank. So many things had happened during the day, but he was too worn out to think about any of them. He was sound asleep before Phineas took off his boots.

The last thing Phineas thought before he fell asleep was that, maybe he was a little like Elvis. He had not wanted Jeffrey at first either, but now he seemed to need him. It was the same thing, really.


	10. We Aren't Leaving

**Chapter 10 Saturday January 5th: We Aren't Leaving**

Phineas stretched as he walked out of the bathroom, then entered the room he'd been sharing with Jeff. He moved toward the spot on the floor where Jeff was asleep.

"Come on kid, rise and shine," he said as he shook Jeff's shoulder.

"Uh," Jeff groaned and turned his head away.

Bogg straightened up and stared at his back. This was the first time since they'd been traveling together that Jeff hadn't jumped out of bed immediately. He was always ready for a voyage, in fact Bogg still felt he was a little too ready sometimes, as though he was still trying not to be any trouble. But today's reaction was new.

Jeff lay facing away from Bogg, knowing that it was time to get up, but thinking only that he wouldn't tell Bogg about his raging sore throat and itchy nose. Suddenly he sneezed, then sneezed again, and again. He sat up, searching for something to wipe his drippy nose. He took the tissue box Bogg was handing him and blew his nose loudly, several times.

_'Oh God, what do I do with a sick kid?'_ Bogg thought to himself as he handed the box of tissues to Jeff. He didn't know how to take care of Jeffrey when he was healthy, how was he supposed to know what to do now?

Jeff sat up and finished wiping his nose. "I'll be ready in a minute," he said as he carried the tissues with him on his way to the bathroom.

"Ready for what?" Bogg asked.

Jeffrey left without answering him. A few minutes later he was back.

"Ready for what?" Bogg asked again when he returned.

"Huh?" Jeff answered putting his finger in his left ear and pulling downward.

Bogg shook his head and spoke louder, "what are you getting ready for?"

"Ready to fix history, what else," Jeff answered, his ears squeaking terribly when he spoke.

Bogg watched him as he again sneezed three times in a row and stuffed a tissue against his nose.

"You can't voyage like this."

"I can, really... once we get started I'll be fine," Jeff answered quickly.

"No way."

"Bogg, you need me, you know you don't know history, please don't leave me here," Jeff pleaded and sneezed again and reached for another tissue. While he was wiping his nose he coughed.

Phineas stared at the kid, suddenly realizing that he had misunderstood the situation. The kid thought he was going to leave him here and voyage without him. He still didn't quite believe that Phineas would take care of him. It seemed odd to Phineas too, but there it was.

This was another complication Phineas hadn't thought of. If he didn't move through the cosmos, his tracker at headquarters would know something was up. He could hide Jeff's presence with him for awhile, but not forever. Eventually they'd catch up with him, and then he'd be in real trouble, not only for voyaging with a civilian, but for concealing it for so long.

Jeff sneezed again, as if to punctuate his thoughts.

Well, he couldn't let the kid omni out with such a bad cold, and he couldn't leave him and come back because his omni kept getting stuck in the automatic mode. He couldn't be sure it would bring him back. No matter what happened, he couldn't risk leaving Jeffrey somewhere alone. So, what headquarters might do didn't really matter. Circumstances had intervened once again and he had no choice.

"Kid, we're both staying here until you're well enough to travel... and no arguments," he said decisively, though dreading the consequences.

Jeff had sat down on the bed and was pulling a sneaker on. Now, he turned toward Bogg, "really?" he whispered hoarsely, then paused for a second before dropping the shoe and laying back down on the bed. He lay on his side, facing out into the room. "Are you sick?" he asked and sneezed again.

"No, you probably caught it in school. I feel fine." As he spoke, Phineas poured a cup of water, "here," he said holding it out toward the boy.

Jeff took it reluctantly. He didn't feel like swallowing anything, but he was afraid not to do as Bogg asked. He took a sip, his throat burned and his ears squeaked as he swallowed, "uh," he groaned. As he handed the cup back, he closed his eyes. He hoped Bogg wasn't too angry with him for being sick. Suddenly he felt the covers being pulled up and tucked around him, "thanks," he whispered without opening his eyes.

Phineas stared at him thinking, then walked to the door and downstairs.

"Morning Phineas, where's Jeffrey?" Maryann asked as he entered the kitchen.

"He's got a pretty bad cold, he's still in bed," he answered, noticing that she had smiled at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Her expression softened as she turned toward the window and stared out at the swing.

"Is there anywhere I can buy some soup?" Phineas asked her.

She turned to him, "I'll start some chicken soup right now, he can have that when it's ready."

"I know that's not part of us staying here."

"Don't worry about that," she interrupted him. "You just see to him, and I'll see to the soup. Here, don't go out for breakfast, have this," and she put the plate she'd been preparing for herself in front of him.

He stared at her and smiled, "thank you," and began to eat.

After he finished, he watched her preparing the chicken for the soup. "Is there anything I can do for you, upstairs, so I can keep an eye on him?"

She looked up, it was nice having a man around the house, and something made her trust him. "The other bedroom needs some work. The hinges are so stiff that the closet door won't close, and it needs to be emptied out and painted. I can't rent it out like that."

He paused, this was what Gladys had hoped would happen, that having them there would help her to move on. "I'll work on it."

She nodded and was humming to herself when he walked back through the kitchen with some tools.

He checked in on Jeffrey before beginning the work. He was asleep. As Phineas put his hand hesitantly on Jeff's forehead, he felt that same warm feeling inside his own chest that he'd experience before. He stood still, considering this strange, new feeling once again. This wasn't partnership, and it was different from friendship, he knew what they felt like, could it be how a parent felt about their child? The thought shocked him and he quickly pushed it out of his mind. "Couldn't be," he whispered, then he pushed the dark curls back off Jeffrey's forehead to better feel for a fever. He felt a bit warm, but slept peacefully, so Phineas got to work.

He first moved some of the contents of the room next door into the hallway. It was full of old furniture and had obviously been used as a storage room. Then he opened the closet door and examined the hinges. He checked on Jeffrey every hour or so.

After he'd been working all morning, he glanced up at a sound in the doorway. Jeff stood there, watching him work.

"Feeling better?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Jeff's hoarse voice answered.

"I think there's some chicken soup ready," Phineas told him, straightening up and smiling. "Let's go see."

They walked downstairs.

Maryann greeted them with a smile. "You just set down right there and I'll get you a bowl of my famous chicken soup," she said upon seeing Jeff.

Jeff sat at the small kitchen table and smiled at her, not wanting to talk. He swallowed and made a face.

"Hurt to swallow?" Bogg asked and Jeff nodded.

Jeff swallowed the first spoonful painfully and paused, then continued. He seemed to feel the healing power of the soup in every swallow, and by the time he was done, his throat didn't seem to hurt so badly.

They had lunch together, and Bogg thought that the smell of the chicken soup made the kitchen seem very homey. "You know, if you do rent the room out, you could offer breakfast to the border, or breakfast and lunch. Just keep that smell of chicken soup coming from the kitchen and anyone you show the room to will want to stay."

"Well, in my day I was known for my cooking," Maryann answered.

"I bet you could find a lot of people who'd want to stay here," Phineas persisted.

"Well, it's something to think about."

"This soup IS good," Jeff said and his voice sounded better.

"Want some more?" Maryann offered.

Jeff's bowl was empty, but he shook his head. "I think I'll just go upstairs and read."

So the rest of the day was quiet. Jeff started reading another book, and when Phineas checked him again an hour later he'd fallen back to sleep. He lifted the book off Jeff's stomach and slipped a strip of paper in as a bookmark.

Several hours later, Jeff woke up and gave a long stretch before he got up and went searching for Bogg. He didn't have to look very far, his new partner was in the next bedroom painting the walls. He settled into an overstuffed chair that had been moved into the hall, where he could watch Phineas as he worked.

ooOoo

That evening, as Phineas sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the covers up over his shoulders, Jeff decided to ask a question.

"Hey Bogg?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me something about Voyagers?" Jeff asked.

Phineas answered in a tone that showed his surprise, "what do you wanna know?"

"I don't know, you're the only Voyager I know, there must be others, right?"

"Yeah."

"How many?"

"I don't know kid."

"You told me you went to school for it, how many were in your class?" Jeff asked.

"Twenty three," Phineas answered uncomfortably. This was sensitive territory. He wasn't supposed to be sharing this information with anyone. On the other hand, Jeff wasn't just anyone. He felt confused, just like he did with every aspect of Jeff's presence in his life.

"And you had a teacher?"

"Uh huh."

"More than one?"

"Yeah."

"How many?"

"Okay, I had seven teachers, and yes there are more than a few Voyagers," Phineas answered, finally giving up. He was in so deep now, what was one more rule broken.

"More than a hundred?"

He paused, "I'm not sure, probably, yes, can't we change the subject?"

"Okay, how about rules? You must have rules, Bogg."

Phineas Bogg sighed and thought of one of the first things he'd ever said to Jeffrey, _'smart kids give me a pain'_, but the truth was, this one didn't. "We follow the Voyager Code. We're sworn to protect the integrity of the past, present and future."

"But there are some things you can't do, right?" Jeff asked.

"We have to solve the red lights in the time stream so history stays on track, kid, I told you that the day we met."

Silence.

"I'm not in my own time," Jeff whispered, and Phineas could tell he was upset. He had somehow pieced it together.

The kid was just too smart. "I know."

"You're violating the Code by keeping me, aren't you?" Jeff said quietly.

"Look, I told you once and I'll say it again, having you with me just feels right. I don't know why, but it's the right thing to do."

"Losing your Guidebook is a huge problem too, isn't it?"

Again, the kid was right on target, "well, there's nothing I can do about that. I can't get back to 1982."

Jeff sat up and crawled into Bogg's arms, "what's gonna happen to me when they find out?"

Phineas Bogg answered quickly and with more certainty than he'd ever felt in his entire life. "Whatever happens, I'll stay with you," he said, and he meant it. Suddenly, it seemed so simple. If headquarters put Jeff back into the time stream, he'd go back to New York, too. He was sure he could get to 1982 with the help of another Voyager. He supposed it was possible they might just let him go, but most likely, they would try to track him down, but he could disappear there, if he had to. He'd see the kid as often as he could, and somehow become his friend. It hurt him to think that Jeff's memories of him would be wiped away, but he was sure he could figure out a way to get close to him and become good friends again. Maybe he could eventually convince his aunt to let Jeff live with him, at least until he grew up. It was a crazy thought, but in that moment, as he tried to comfort this child, he was convinced it was possible, that he could somehow make it work. One thing he knew was that Jeffrey deserved to be cared for by a loving adult, and his aunt wasn't that person, he was.

"You will?" Jeff whispered and looked up at him.

"I promise," Bogg told him, and then gave him a big hug. "You need to stop worrying about this and trust me. And get some sleep."

Jeff settled back down into the bed and coughed several times. "Okay."

Bogg smiled and moved off the bed to the blanket on the floor, "g'night."

"Night," Jeff answered and he felt so tired that indeed, he was soon asleep.


	11. The Beatles

**Chapter 11: The Beatles **

They stayed with Maryann for a few more days, until Phineas was convinced that Jeff was well enough to comfortably travel through the cosmos and had his normal energy back. Finally, it was time to go, so they said their good-byes and walked around the corner to a more secluded spot where Bogg pushed the button.

They landed in a room, behind some boxes, and though they couldn't see anyone, they knew this was a crowded and familiar place. The general din that they immediately heard conveyed both messages loud and clear.

"Right on target," Jeff said as he looked around.

"Hey Jack, there's a kid back here," a woman's voice spoke.

"Hey," Jeff shouted as a heavyset man with a cigar clamped between his teeth grabbed his forearm roughly and pulled him forward.

Quick as a flash, Bogg grabbed the man's wrist.

"Huh?" Jack grunted as he released his grip on Jeffrey, "let go of me."

"That's my kid, hands off," Bogg said in a fierce voice, refusing to release the man's wrist, though he was trying to break away.

"He shouldn't be here," was the gruff reply as Bogg released his grasp.

"Come on Jeff," Bogg said, motioning Jeffrey to move ahead of him toward the door.

As Jeff moved through the crowded room, he felt that familiar swelling up in his chest. Bogg had said he was his kid... HIS kid. That sounded even better than partner. He'd never called Jeff that before.

"Idiot," Jack whispered under his breath as he rubbed his wrist and turned away from them.

As they reached the corridor, Jeff hurried toward the sign that was posted at the end.

"There it is," he said excitedly, pointing to a sign with large blue lettering _'February 9, 1964: Tonight's featured act- The Beatles'. _Can we listen Bogg, please?" Jeff asked.

Phineas lifted the omni off his belt, opened it, then turned it so Jeff could see the green light. "Sure," he said as they heard Ed Sullivan's voice speaking to the audience. They walked together, away from the backstage area, and found a spot where they could see the stage.

ooOoo

"Wow, they should've had us listen to this in Voyager school. I would've remembered this!" Bogg said after the performance. "Maybe we should go see Elvis too, what do you think?" he asked and finally looked over at Jeff, who was smiling at him ear to ear. "What?"

"You said I was your kid."

"Well you are," Phineas told him without missing a beat, "I thought we settled that," and he was rewarded with the tightest hug Jeffrey could manage.

The End

A/N #1 I tried to use dialog more to tell the story. It get's tricky when there are more than 2 people in the conversation.

A/N #2_ Re: Chapter 5  
>Ignaz Semmelweis watched the doctors and midwives and realized that the doctors did autopsies between examining women in labor. The midwives didn't do the autopsies. Since that was the only difference in the care, he had the doctors stop the practice and immediately their death rates dropped to 2% also. But he took it one step further, hypothesizing that something might have been carried on the hands of the doctors. Once he instructed the caregivers to wash with a chlorinated lime solution (basically bleach) before examining a patient, the infection, called puerperal fever all but disappeared. His important role in developing The Germ Theory wasn't recognized until many years after his death.<br>__Ironically, he himself died of a blood infection at the age of 47._


End file.
